The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on October 27 that Sidal Inc., the owner of Rally’s Hamburger, must pay $150,000 to settle a claim of sexual harassment and sexual abuse. The federal agency filed the claim on behalf of several teens who worked at a Terre Haute, Indiana Rally’s Hamburger restaurant. The teens alleged that a manager made disparaging comments to female workers and attempted to grope some of them. One teen claimed that the manager sexually assaulted her. According to an Indianapolis Star report on the settlement, Sidal Inc will pay $150,000 to the claimants and will train its employees in proper procedure to prevent future incidents of sexual harassment.

This case is by no means an isolated example of bad behavior in the restaurant industry. Indeed, multiple restaurants — from fast food places like Rally’s to high profile eateries in New York City — have been recently hit with charges of allowing or condoning sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, and other bad practices.

In New York City, for instance, attorney Maimon Kirschenbaum has help lead the charge against several high profile city restaurants (including, recently, Mario Batali’s Del Posto) for wage and hour violations. These occur when a restaurateur does things like illegally sharing waiter tips with non-service employees and fails to pay overtime.

Unfortunately, if you’ve been sexually harassed, discriminated against on the basis of your race or age, or retaliated against for making a complaint to HR or to your shift manager for bad treatment, you may not know how to get compensated or where to get help.

The law firm of Joseph & Kirschenbaum can provide strategic guidance and assistance. Connect with the firm today for a free consultation at (212) 688-5640. Or check out the free resources at www.jhllp.com. Don’t wait. Get superior legal assistance with your claim.